Venkat Prabhu is perhaps single-handedly responsible for spawning the rage for a salt-and-pepper hairdo among Tamil cinema fans via Ajith Kumar’s Mankatha .
The commercial success of the 2011 film, which was Ajith’s 50th movie in a career that has now stretched 28 years, generated conversations over a potential sequel.
However, nine years later, this much-anticipated sequel has yet to materialise. Nor is there any chatter over Venkat Prabhu helming another Ajith movie.
The film’s success brought Venkat Prabhu on the radar of Tamil cinema’s other big star, Vijay; the filmmaker has previously gone on record to reveal that he was asked to pitch a story by Vijay, however, a film has yet to develop.
Venkat Prabhu
Will they or won’t they?
In a conversation with The Hindu , when asked about the status of a Mankatha sequel, Venkat Prabhu says that he has ideas of making one, if both Ajith and Vijay would come together for the film.
“It will be the best thing for people after COVID-19. It could instantly bring back the theatre experience for fans,” he says, before adding, “I don’t know if I will be the one to bring them both together on screen or if it will be someone else. I have a few ideas , but it can only move forward if both accept.”
The filmmaker narrates an incident from during the filming of Mankatha , when Vijay — who was shooting for his movie Velayudham at the time — dropped in to the former’s set.
“When I pitched an idea of them working together, they were like ‘Yes, pannalaame ’ (yes, we can do it),” says Venkat Prabhu, who stars alongside Vaibhav in the upcoming film ‘Lock Up’ that will stream on Zee5 from August 14.
The issue though, as he adds, is to figure out how to make the commitment a reality. “I don’t know how it would work out practically (read as: budget). Only when it happens, we will know.”
Recently, there has been speculation that the film industry’s two top veterans, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, may be working together again; the latter producing a film starring the former that is to be directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj.
“Everyone is talking about it (Rajinikanth-Kamal film). I don’t know. But yes, if that combo happens, then Thala-Thalapathy too can happen I think,” adds Venkat Prabhu.
Published - August 04, 2020 06:22 pm IST
